Blake Shelton seems like a dude I’d like to have a beer with. I've never seen "The Voice," the show that he stars in and is a judge on, but his music credentials and pure showmanship put him on the map and on Friday night in Milwaukee he not only owned the stage but showed why he's the reigning Country Music Association "Entertainer of the Year."
Blake Shelton doesn’t take himself too seriously, and sings some of his more "redneck" tunes with a charm and tongue in cheek humor that works very, very well. Sure, there’s some marketing and great savvy with Blake, but his easy going, no nonsense approach has made him star.
Shelton’s no stranger to Milwaukee. He’s played two post game concerts for the Milwaukee Admirals (2007 and 2009) but Friday night- as he readies for the next season of "The Voice" - he came to the BMO Harris Bank Bradley Center for a 2 hour blast of his biggest hits.
It’s easy to call Shelton an "aw-shucks" charmer but the 37 year-old is a true entertainer with a grounded sensibility. He understands the mainstream nature of country music and embraces the fact that America loves it and its approachability.
Shelton’s "Ten Times Crazier" Tour played and talked to the faithful Friday by cranking out hit after hit while weaving in plenty of stories and easy-going chatter between tunes.
Shelton was ever connected and playful as he stood tall saying that even though the crowd was laced with corporate sponsor-types that he'd still tweet, "You can kiss my country ass" to the big screen behind him before launching into the song of the same name.
Five hours before the show, Shelton tweeted this: "Hey Milwaukee!!!! Y'all ready for this sh*t?!!"
Indeed, ever the modern redneck, Shelton masterfully worked the crowd getting fans involved via cheers and mobile phone photos. Before his Michael Bublé covered tune, "Home," he got the entire crowd to shine their phones and "make him feel like he was like Taylor Swift." Before "Some Beach," he donned a cowboy hat with a mullet attached and played with the fake locks through out the song.
You see, Shelton gets it. All through his career, he's not only cranked out 14 number ones, but done it in a low key, yet highly commercial manner. He's mainstream, but maintained his country credibility while crossing over into pop and, of course, national television.
On this tour, he talks up his TV stardom and show and has been doing a cover of Cee-Lo Green’s "Forget You." He skipped this on Friday night but did bring out this summer’s "The Voice" champ Danielle Bradbery to sing her new single "The Heart of Dixie." Bradbery was poised and professional, a true student of Shelton's game.
All in all, the sound was great and the capacity crowd danced and sang all night long. I seemingly mention this in all my country reviews, but I was again struck at the age diversity of the crowd. We had two 60 something couples in front of us, while a single 30ish lady danced down the aisle and a group of 8 year-olds with their moms rocked behind us. County's the king, and its wings cross many generations. It's fun to see, and Shelton enjoyed it too as he slapped hands, toasted a romantic couple in the crowd and winked at about every pretty woman he could find.
Shelton closed his set with "Honey Bee," and his huge "Boys 'Round Here" hit before belting into an encore of "Footloose" and one of his signature tunes, "God Gave Me You."
Shelton's also known for his marriage to Miranda Lambert, who headlined Wisconsin State Fair this year. Yet, he only mentioned her once when he did an acoustic version of her "Over You," a song about Shelton's brother who died in a car crash when Blake was 14.
Like any good performer, Shelton thanked the crowed and mentioned "Milwaukee" often. And even though the show was probably fairly similar to the previous night's in Minneapolis and tomorrow's in Nashville (he plays Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Saturday night), it worked perfectly and made for a very special evening for Milwaukee country fans.
Set list
Blake Shelton - Milwaukee, Sept. 14, 2013
All About Tonight
The More I Drink
Over
Kiss My Country Ass
She Wouldn't Be Gone
Mine Would Be You
Nobody but Me
Some Beach
Ol' Red (George Jones)
Who Are You When I'm Not Looking
Sure Be Cool If You Did
The Heart of Dixie (Danielle Bradbery)
Hillbilly Bone
Over You (Acoustic)
Austin (Acoustic)
Drink on It
Home (Michael Bublé)
Honey Bee
Boys 'Round Here
Encore:
Footloose (Kenny Loggins)
God Gave Me You
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
